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There is an old expression that “you can only beat what is in front of you” and that seems very apropos given the top of the Premier League table clash this weekend between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium in London.

Any extended schedule is going to throw up easier runs throughout various stages of a season and clearly Arsenal and Liverpool have both been fortunate in terms of the first nine rounds of play.

Although only three points separate Swansea, Hull and Newcastle (9, 10 and 11 respectively and all with 11 points) and Manchester United (8th with 14 points) the early returns point to a significant break between 8th and the rest of the Premier League. (A similar argument could be made for teams currently from 9th to 18th and the bottom two Sunderland and Crystal Palace.)

A focus on the current top eight teams confirms that Arsenal and Liverpool have had something less than taxing starts. Arsenal’s only opponent from the top 8 so far has been Tottenham Hotspur. In the case of Liverpool head-to-head challenges against current top 8 teams has been limited to a home win over Manchester United and a home loss to Southampton.

But it is disingenuous to point fingers at Arsenal and Liverpool without looking further afield. Closer investigation shows that others have always benefited from the schedule lottery. With nine rounds of play complete already, a team could have been expected on average to have played at least three opponents from the top eight.

While Manchester City hit three on the nose both city rivals United and Chelsea have already played four of the top 8. That leaves us with Everton, Southampton and Spurs who have only played two apiece but who have all failed to take advantage of their situations to the same degree as Arsenal and Liverpool.

Here is how the current top 8 look followed by a mini-table of the current top 8 in head-2-head.

Team

P

Pts

Avg

Manchester City

3

6

67%

Chelsea

4

5

42%

Southampton

2

4

67%

Arsenal

1

3

100%

Liverpool

2

3

50%

Everton

2

3

50%

Manchester United

4

2

17%

Tottenham Hotspur

2

1

17%

But just as the computer program that churns out the season long schedule gives, it also eventually takes away. And for Arsenal the game against Liverpool on Saturday starts a brutally difficult run of fixtures that will tell us a lot more about their prospects of challenging for honors this season than the first three months have.

Before November ends the Gunners have to travel to Old Trafford and are home to Southampton both in the Premier League. There is also a very testing trip to play Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday and another Champions League match against Marseille at the Emirates on November 26.

Post-Arsenal Liverpool have some breathing room. A Merseyside derby away to Everton in three weeks time stands out but it is the holiday period that will likely prove to be an acid test for Liverpool. December 14 away to Spurs, Boxing Day away to Manchester City and December 28 away to Chelsea is about as tough as it comes although Arsenal's run of Everton (h), Manchester City (a) and Chelsea (h) at the start of the same month runs it pretty close.